


The best of us can find happiness in misery

by thebatmandiaries



Series: Born under a bad sign, you saved my life [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Just realized I spelled differences wrong but I’m too lazy to change it, Next in the series, Or does he, Sibling Banter, Zuko joins the gang early, and canon, covers book one through three, he does but its complicated, mostly cannon compliant but there is some differneces, so buckle up it’s a long one folks, tags will be updated as the story moves along, this au basically lives in my mind rent free, why is spelling so hard for me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28538496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebatmandiaries/pseuds/thebatmandiaries
Summary: The bar was disgusting. Hardly fitting for royalty to be in here. But they weren’t royalty right now. At least, they certainly didn’t look like it.Zuko thought if they blended in with the crowd, and “looked like commoners” they could have a better chance in helping get information.Although their molten golden eyes were probably a dead giveaway, seeing as only the royal family had the specific shade.Although, Azula thought, I wonder if that’s common knowledge here. They were in a tiny Earth Nation town. Practically the middle of nowhere.“This bar is disgusting.” she said to her brother, who was staring disdainfully at the sticky table.“Hardly for royalty.” he agreed. “But our informant is meeting us here. Or at least he said he was going to. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets here.”Azula shifted, not used to wearing a hood and no hairpiece to signify her royal status. ‘Oh how the mighty have fallen.’ she thought.***Time to find the avatar.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Born under a bad sign, you saved my life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984153
Comments: 42
Kudos: 115





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the actual stuff set in the series! You don't technically have to read the previous two in the series, but it would probably help for you to understand what's happening here. I hope you enjoy this entry and as always, please comment & subscribe if you're interested in knowing when this story updates. Comments definitely help in the speed of updating but no promises in frequent updates, although I'll try my best. Especially since the semester is starting soon.

_ The palace is quite empty. _ Iroh noted as he walked in. It had been a year since he left and so much had changed. The palace didn’t  _ look _ different but it definitely  _ felt _ different. A veil of sorrow, a repressed choking feeling too hold and almost made it hard to breathe. 

Ignoring the choking feeling, Iroh walked to the throne room to announce his arrival back. He had been sorry that he missed his fathers funeral, but by the time he had heard about it, it had been weeks, since he was too far away to make it on time. 

The throne room was like it always was. Empty. Barren. A sense of stillness was here, like if you breathed wrong the fire would consume you.

He hated this room the most.

As he walked in, he took a deep breath and sighed. 

He wished someone was here to wish him luck. 

_ He would need it. _

* * *

_ I can't believe they are gone. _ Iroh thought.  _ Sending kids out for the Avatar. What was he thinking? _

He shook his head in disgust and looked around the room. Zuko's room was barren, no life lived in there. A picture perfect room for a prince. No personality or thought in here. It was very clean, orderly, but a sense of sadness filled the room.

He remembered when Zuko was younger, back when there wasn't a need for him to change who he was. It is one of Iroh’s greatest regrets he was here when Zuko needed him most.  _ I can't change the past though, so no use feeling bad over it.  _ That's what he tells himself anyway. 

* * *

_ As far as outings go this is a relatively tame one. Ember Island was a popular vacation spot, one for tourists and native Fire Nation people. The sun was shining brightly, it was a cloudless day and Zuko was playing in the sand with Lu Ten as Ursa rocked Azula to sleep.  _

_ She had been cranky all day, refusing to sleep, and Iroh could tell ursa was wearing herself thin. Before he could offer to take Azula to let her sleep (even though he was pretty sure she ddin’t like him, although Ursa said that was absurd since she was a baby and liked everyone) Zuko spoke up.  _

_ “Momma, can I hold her?” he said, turning away from the sandcastle he built.  _

_ She sighed wearily and sid, “Sure, but make sure you hold her carefully, she’s very small and can be hurt easily.” _

_ Zuko scoffed, making Iroh laugh. Iroh was glad his brother was too busy today to go, this moment would have never happened then. “Of course mama, I’m her big brother, and it's my job to protect her.” _

_ He held out his hands for Azula and she handed her over carefully. After settling her in Zuko's arms, she looked at the two of them. Azula was fast asleep. No squirming or whing, she had just closed her eyes. Iroh watched as Zuko’s eyes lit up in excitement.  _

_ He made a ‘shhh’ motion and pointed to azula. Zuko nodded, and Iroh spoke quietly. “I guess she likes you.” _

_ Zuko beamed and looked to his mother who gave him a soft smile. _

_ A few years passed and Iroh would hold that memory close as he watched the two grow further apart and the siblings closer together. _

_ Sometimes Iroh wondered if that was ever a good thing.  _

* * *

He looked out the window and decided he was going to help. He needed to find them, get them to see that there was more to life than capturing a myth. 

That the war was wrong.

When Zuko took the throne he needed to have the war ended.  _ It can’t keep going on like this _ . Iroh thinks.

He packs up his bags, walks out the door, and leaves. 


	2. Peroxide princess, shine like shark teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Information finding is a hard. Especially when the information in question is about a century old person.

Azula is angry. No, scratch that, she is furious. _My brother is an imbecile!_ She groans and looks toward him. They docked for the day, following clues to find this mythical being. They had only been out to sea for a month, and it was already getting to be a bit much. 

They had yet to find any good intel.

She pokes at her food and one of the cremates, not important enough for her to remember the name, looks at her. “Is something wrong, Princess Azula?”

She sighed. “No, I'm just bored.”

The crewmates looked distressed. _Good_ . She thinks maliciously. Her being bored is almost never a good sign. _And Zuko isn't here so no one to distract me from having my fun._ Almost like divine intervention, uko appears. 

She ignores the crewmates' sigh of relief. _Pathetic_. 

“Did you find anything?” she asks him. 

He shakes his head. “Not about the avatar. But if Zhao comes for us, I have blackmail on him.”

Azula rolled her eyes. “He has been persistent of late.”

“Unfortunately so.”

The still unnamed crewmate interrupted again. “Ma’am were sorry to interrupt but-”

Azula gave them an unimpressed stare, “If you were sorry you wouldn't have done it in the first place.”

The crewmate turned to Zuko for some help. _Why do they think I’m more willing to help than Azula?_ “She’s right.” he shrugged. “But what do you want?” 

“We saw General Zhao’s boat.”

Zuko sighed. “Of course you did. Speak of the devil.” 

Azula laughed. 

* * *

A year passed and still nothing. They had yet to find a reliable source of information. She had held out hope they would find something. But, nothing. 

She took her hairpiece out and combed her hair. It had gotten longer. It was about collar bone length now. They hadn’t had a chance to find time to go back to the palace so she just let it grow. 

She heard a knock on her door. Quickly re-doing her hair, she answered. Raising an unimpressed eyebrow she saw her brother standing at the door. She beckoned him in and he sat on her desk chair, facing her. 

“I got a note from our father.”

She waited for him to continue. “He isn't pleased it's taking so long.”

She sighed. “Well, it’s not like we have any good sources of information. At the very least us learning about the defenses and weak points of the areas we visit is helpful.”

Zuko nodded. “That’s true. We were able to quell the uprising in the previous town and dispose of the disgraceful generals.” 

Azula a eyes flashed with a glint of malice. “We did. I have hear a rumor however, that our dear Uncle is trying to find us.”

Zuko frowned. “Why?”

Azula rolled her eyes. “If I knew that I would have told you already. And besides, it’s just a rumor. We don’t even know if it’s the truth.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow: “it’s unlike you to deal in such uncertainties.”

Azula sighed distanfully. “Lately that’s all we’ve been doing so I don’t have much of a choice.”

The quiet silence settled, and she felt the annoyance rise in her again.

* * *

The bar was disgusting. _Hardly fitting for royalty to be in here_. But they weren’t royalty right now. At least, they certainly didn’t look like it. 

Zuko thought if they blended in with the crowd, and “looked like commoners” they could have a better chance in helping get information. 

Although their molten golden eyes were probably a dead giveaway, seeing as only the royal family had the specific shade. 

_Although,_ Azula thought, _I wonder if that’s common knowledge here_. They were in a tiny Earth Nation town. Practically the middle of nowhere.

“This bar is disgusting.” she said to her brother, who was staring disdainfully at the sticky table. 

“Hardly for royalty.” he agreed. “But our informant is meeting us here. Or at least he said he was going to. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets here.”

Azula shifted, not used to wearing a hood and no hairpiece to signify her royal status. _Oh how the mighty have fallen._ she thought. 

“I agree. Let’s wait five more minutes and then leave this place.”

Five minutes passed and they were getting up to leave. But before they could fully go, a hand on Zuko’s shoulder stopped them.

Zuko glared at the hand and grabbed on to it tightly, enough for it to be painful. He turned around and glared at the offending person. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

The man yelped and stuttered out the fact he was the one they were looking for, the informant.

Zuko released the man's wrist and the guy held his wrist to his chest. “That’s quite a grip you have there.”

Azula was not in the mood to play any more games. “We have been waiting twenty minutes too long. Tell us the information we requested or your wrist isn’t going to be the only thing hurt tonight.”

The man nodded and began his story. “I heard he was in the western part of the Earth Nation. Some rumors of a man flying there.”

Zuko and Azula share a look. “How? I thought the airbenders were extinct?”

The man shrugged. “Maybe one survived?”

_Not likely._ They both thought.

Instead of saying something they both nodded and she said, “Thank you for the information.”

They were about to walk away when the man gets annoyed. “Where’s my pay?”

Azula laughed. “Why would I give you money? That information was practically worthless. As if we would check out something based off peer rumor.”

Ignoring the time they _did_ actually do that, she scowled at him. He looked towards Zuko, expecting something when he saw that indifferent look upon his face.

“What,” Zuko said. Looking at the man, “you think I was going to disagree? I thought you had actual information. If I had known it was going to be rumors again I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

The man got even angrier. “You said you wanted information, I provided that. So pay up.”

Zuko shook his head. “I specified that it had to be actual information. Not rumors.”

She was tired of this conversation. It had been a long day and they had to head back out to see again tomorrow. Her eyes sharpened, her voice sounding friendly, but with an underlying threat. “Is this going to be a problem?”

The man stopped talking and looked at her. He said nothing but shook his head. “Great! Then you’ll be on your way.”

He nodded and quickly ran out of the bar. 

“Well that was pointless.” 

Azula sighed and nodded.

* * *

The next few years went by in the same fashion. Dock, get information they already knew, leave and repat. Add in occasional letters and friendly sparring. 

It was boring. So very _boring_. It was...not as exciting as she hoped. 

At the very least dodging that uncle of theirs was mildly entertaining. Azula was unsure _why_ he was looking for them so fervently. _Quite a mystery indeed_ , she thought. 

She sighed, looking over information she had known since they started this journey. She looked to her brother who was eating some soup. He wanted to go to the “food area” of the ship and she figured they could both use a change of scenery. 

“When do you think we’ll find actual information?” 

He shrugged, taking another bit of soup. “Soon probably.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And how do you know that?”

“Just a feeling,”

She rolled her eyes. “And does this _feeling_ tell you anything else?”

He set his empty soup bowl aside. “No. But I am bored, and I think we should spar. I've been working on a few new moves.”

She laughed. “It’ll take more than a ‘few new moves’ to beat me.”

“I wouldn't expect anything less.” 

* * *

They were tired. They both were laying down on the deck, with express orders to not be bothered. 

Zuko suddenly shot up and pointed to the sky. A blue beam had shown from it. 

“It's the avatar.” 

_Finally_ she thought, _we’re getting somewhere_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is where we get into actual canon stuff!
> 
> chapter title from "headfirst slide into cooperstown on a bad bet".


	3. You can thank your lucky stars everything I wish for will never come true

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to find the avatar!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah and here we begin the canon timeline. hope you all enjoy. comment below if you have any ideas or things you want to see happen in this story. oh also happy orthodox christmas to those who celebrate it.

It was cold. The Southern Water Tribe was a bed of ice and wind. Icebergs cut a treacherous path, leaving steering the ship to be a more difficult task. 

“Princess Azula, we’re almost there.” a crew member stated.

She nodded and waved them off. “Go get my brother, I need to speak with him.” 

They bowed and a few minutes later Zuko arrived. “Ah, yes, come in.”

“What did you need?” her brother said, walking in.

“I had a few things we needed to discuss.” 

“Like?”

“Like how exactly we're going to bring in the avatar. It’s not going to be easy.” 

“I know. We-“ before he could continue a loud crash sounded through the ship causing them to stumble:

Both of them walked up to the observation deck. “Who was responsible for that?” Zuko narrowed his eyes. 

Azula glared. “Zuko, it doesn’t matter. They just need to know that if it happens again, _there will be consequences_.” A shiver ran through the crew. 

“Apologies Princess, Prince.” A man said, bowing. 

Zuko shot him a look fo disgust. “I didn’t ask for apologies, I asked who did it. But Azula is right, it doesn’t matter. We’re here and have bigger problems.” 

Azula formed a fire dagger, “Agreed.”

They descended down to the plank and walked to the huddling crowd. “Hello Water Tribe peasants. I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and this is my brother Prince Zuko.” She waved to her brother. 

A boomerang struck out from the crowd. Suddenly a man was on the way to attack them but Zuko quickly disarmed him. “Well,” he paused looking at the man. “That was quite rude. My sister wasn’t done speaking. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that interrupting is rude?” 

Azula smirked. “Thank you brother.” She looked over the crowd shrewdly, ignoring another attack that her brother shut down. “We are here for the avatar. If you give him over, you have our word we will not do anything against the tribe here.”

Silence. She and Zuko shared a look. He nodded and spoke up. “Well then, dear sister, I believe we have to give them incentive.”

She lit up her hand. “Last chance.”

Before she could enact destruction a kid broke through the crowd. _He isn’t more than 12, what could he possibly want?_

“I’m the avatar! Just take me and don’t harm the people here!” He said.

She couldn’t contain her laugh. “Nice try. Do you take me for an imbecile?”

The boy waved his arms around. “It’s true! Sokka and Katara found me in an ice burg! I was frozen for a hundred years.”

Zuko scoffed. “I thought if people lied they’d at least put in effort.” 

“But I’m not lying! Here! I can prove it!” The kid said, gesturing wildly.

“Aang!” The girl hissed. “What are you doing?!”

The kid, Aang, waved her off. “It’s fine Katara.”

The girl huffed angrily, and Aang turned their attention on them.

“Here, I’ll show you.” He said.

Zuko and Azula shared a look. _Is this kid for real?_ “Sure.” Zuko said.

He went through the four elements. “Here. Earth, fire, water, and air.”

After he demonstrated them, Azula stalked over and clicked some type of cuffs on him. “Alright then, you’re our prisoner.”

Confusion crossed Aangs face. “What? Why?”

“Because you’re the avatar? And we were ordered to capture you?” She turned to Zuko. “We’re we not clear about that?”

Zuko shrugged. “I thought it was pretty clear, especially since we were going to burn down the village to find him.”

Aang eyes widened. “You were actually serious?!”

Together they said, “Of course were were.”

Azula shook her head. “I never make an empty threat.”

Zuko nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Father always says that if you Arne willing to follow through on your threat then you shouldn’t make one.”

“So Katara wasn’t lying about the war?”

Azula bristled. “We don’t have time for twenty questions. Zuko, let’s go. And knock him out. I don’t plan on chatting with him the whole way.”

He nodded. “It’s been fun everyone. I won’t lie and say it’s been a nice visit though.”

He dragged Aangs comatose body with him, following Azula. 

A silence rang over everyone after they left. Katara, in stubborn determination, was not going to give up just yet. 

They had an avatar to save. 

* * *

Zuko drummed his fingers on his desk. He had his letter out, but something stopped him from writing it. An uneasy feeling had filled him and he was not one to ignore these. 

It was usually a precursor to something bad happening. 

He walked into Azula’s room. “Something bad is going to happen. I can _feel_ it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh you’re feelings say so?”

“Don’t joke, I’m serious. We should check on the avatar, who knows if he had someone coming to rescue him. I don’t want to send a letter to Father saying we captured him and then have to go back empty handed. You _know_ what he would do.”

Azula looked away. “You’re right.”

“And how much did that hurt to say?”

“Not as much as it will for you if you keep it up.”

They continued bickering as they walked down to the cell the avatar was being held in. She pointed to him laying on the floor. “See? He’s right there.”

Zuko took a look and then a second one. A big sigh and then, “Azula that’s not him.”

She out her hands on her hips. “And why not?”

“Because the avatar is bald.”

“So?”

“This man has a full head of hair. He’s also a bit taller than him.”

Azula just groaned and slapped her forehead with her palm. “Great.”

* * *

The soldiers were lined up in a straight line. The helmets were off and they all look terrified. For a good reason: they had let the avatar especially on their watch. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Azula who was walking in front of them. _This is all Zuko_ , Azula smirked. Many people made the wrong assumption that her brother was weaker than her. That he was more willing to let failure go. He had a jovial demeanor, belying what was underneath. 

Zuko stopped pacing, and spun around. He quickly spun around and through the quietness of heading a pin drop he said, “So, who’s fault was it?”

No one said anything. Zuko smirked, but it was not a smile of happiness. It was dripping malice. The crew shivered again. “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I _said_ who did it? I just want a name.”

Azula smirked again from the side. “I’d answer him if I were you.”

Zuko smiled that smile again. “Rest assured, you all _will_ talk, willingly or not.”

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. No one spoke still, too afraid to say anything. 

“Oh well, I guess it’s the hard way.” He said, lighting up his hand. “It’s too bad I don’t have lighting. Azula, would you be willing to help with that?”

“Of course.”

Suddenly, a crew mate looked around desperately, “I know who it was.” He pointed to a few of the members on the end. “It was them.”

“Excellent.” Azulas glare made them stay exactly where they were. “Everyone else is dismissed. We will be going to get the avatar as soon as possible. And by that, I mean right now.”

The crew scattered and the two siblings looked at the remaining crew members. 

“So,” Zuko began. 

“Tell us exactly what happened.” Azula finished. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tried expanding more with zuko's characterization in this au. i wanted to show more of the effect his younger years and what he's like now.
> 
> title from the fob song "sending postcards from a plane crash (wish you were here)". 
> 
> don't forget to like comment and subscribe.


	4. We didn't come to compete, this is a demonstration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Azula meet (insult) Zhao again, Iroh finds them, and Zuko has a terrible nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if a warning is needed, but there is a dream sequence in where Zuko has a nightmare in which Ozai burns his face. Not in any detail, but figured i should mention that just in case. 
> 
> did i spend a bulk of the chapter having zuko and azula insult zhao? perhaps. also fyi in this story zuko has his season three haircut. its not mentioned but i want you all to know that. 
> 
> this chapter was actually pretty long for my standards so i hope you enjoy it. chapter title from fob's "shes my winona"

Zuko was angry. Not only had they captured the avatar, but they were finally going to get to go home! They were so close, but they had let it slip out of their hands. _So much for the best and brightest of the Fire Nation Army._ He clenched his fist, and looked at the scrolls in front of him. _Father cannot learn of this_. 

Azula walked into his room. “How are you feeling?”

Zuko gave her a look. “How do you think?”

Azula shrugged. “We’ll find him again and take him back to Father. This is nothing more than a minor setback. The only faults are of those who let him escape.” 

Zuko’s face darkened. “Well at least we’ll never have to deal with such incompetence again.”

Azula smirked. “That is true. Now, we need to figure out where he is going. Along with his little compatriots.”

Zuko sighed. “Definitely. The last thing we need is this getting out. Father would have our heads for this.”

“Well, that's simple.” Azula said, pulling out maps to plot their course. “We’ll just need to find him again. We did it once, how hard could it be?”

* * *

_Turns out, it’s very difficult to find him._ “Is he some type of combat expert? How is able to get there and leave before us?” Zuko wondered. As they waited for their docked shi[ to receive its repairs, he went over the maps again. _We need a plan_. 

Azula shrugged. “He does have that animal to lug them around. Probably easier to leave and land.”

“True.” he muttered, focusing on the maps again. “Although I've heard rumors that our uncle is closing in on us, and our favorite commander is docked near us.” 

Azula pursed her lips. “I think we’ll need some more help. Maybe it’s time to bring outside help.” 

“Should we let Uncle find us?” 

“I think it’s time. He _was_ a feared general, and this is war. We need all the help we can get, as loathe as I am to even entertain the thought.”

“Then it’s settled. He’s close, so we’ll dock here for a few days. Maybe we can even challenge Zhao. I’m feeling like he needs another dose of reality check.”

* * *

Turns out they didn’t need to seek out Zhao. He did it all himself. After learning they were docked, he made his mostly unwanted appearance. 

Azula hated him, and the feeling was mutual. Zuko was also not a fan of him, to say the least. It was a common sentiment when dealing with this specific commander. 

“Princess Azula, Prince Zuko, General Zhao is here to see you.” a crew mate said, knocking on the door.

“I guess knocking _before_ entering is a lost art.” Zuko muttered, causing the crew mate to profusely apologize. Things were still tense from the few days before. Not that Zuko cared. The crew served him, not the other way around. He interrupted the apologies with a “Send him in.”

The man walked in, and looked around the room. It was a ship for royalty, so of course the opulence was shown obviously through the decor. He couldn’t imagine being on a regular old war ship. Zuko shuddered. _It would be so bare and tiny, with a skeleton crew._

“Prince Zuko, Princess Azula.” he said in greeting. There was no respect in his tone. 

“I apologize. If I had known the circus was in town, I would have made a visit.” Zuko said, looking away from the maps to address the man in front of him. 

Zhao’s face pinched in anger. “Don’t say that Zuzu.” Azula said, laughing. “That's an insult to the circus. Besides, Tai Lee is in one and she would never lower herself to consorting with _him_ .”   
  


“As lovely as it is to stand here and make idle conversation,” Zuko laughs but covers it as a cough, “I am here for a reason.”

Azula raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

Now it was Zhao’s turn to smirk. “I heard you two stumbled upon _quite_ a discovery. It would be a shame if it was found out.”

Azula laughed. She looked at her nails, an unconcerned aura radiating from her. “Are you _threatening_ us, Commander?”

“I would _never_ do such a thing, Princess Azula.” 

Zuko watched the verbal spar with an air of boredom. Unlike Azula he didn’t care for manipulation. Why manipulate when you can threaten? He sighed. “What do you want Zhao? I doubt you walked all the way over to greet us.”

“I want you to give up your search for the avatar. I know you captured him but he escaped. To relieve you of your failures, I will be taking over the search.” 

Azula laughed and Zuko hid a smile. “Azula, can you remind me when a commander was a higher rank than a crown prince? I seem to have forgotten.” 

“Considering a crown prince is next in line for the throne and ruling the country, I believe there has never been a circumstance like that.”

“So then why does Commander Zhao think he can order both of us around when we are clearly of higher rank then him?”

“Perhaps he’s quite stupid.” Azula smirked. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

A fist slammed on the desk in front of Zhao. “How dare you. Do _not_ speak of me like that while i’m in front of you.”

Zuko tilted his head. “Well then how _would_ you like me to speak to you? I take requests.”

Azula hid her laughter behind her hand, and Zuko remained blank faced. Cutting the tension, Azula looked at the maps again, and said “Well if thats all, we need to get back to finding the avatar for our father. Unfortunately, what you have heard is nothing more than rumors. We have never seen the avatar. Not for lack of trying though.”

Zhao looked between both of them. “I don't believe you. And if you refuse to quit then I will _make_ you.”

Azula and Zuko shared a look. “And how, exactly, would you do that? As I recall, we already established that you have little to no power over us.”

Zhao glared at them. “That may be true, but you cannot function without your crew. I am co-opting them for myself. Since I am a Commander, I have the rank to do this.”

Zuko sighed. _So this is how he wants to play it._ “True, but what of when my father hears you stole troops from _both_ of his children. He won’t be happy.” Zuko adopted the unconcerned aura Azula had moments ago when speaking to Zhao. “Of course, we can always fight for them. Officially.”

Azula tilted her head. _What are you doing?_

He shook his head. _Trust me, I have a plan_.

She rolled her eyes. _If you say so._

Zhao watched their movements and then said, “Very well. Then I challenge you to a duel. An agni kai. In one hour.”

“And how do I know you’ll be there?”

Zhao scoffed, “You’re not the one who should be worried about a no-show.”

Zuko’s smile was as sharp as the swords on display in the room. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I plan on being there.”

* * *

Iroh had finally caught up with the siblings. He knew they were leading him on wild goose chases to keep him away from them, but he had finally got them. He knew they had let him find them, it was no coincidence. Both Zuko and Azula were good at concealing their whereabouts when needed. 

He saw a ship docked, getting repaired, and he knew it was the one he was looking for. Hearing commotion around the corner, he walked over just in time to stop him nephew from almost killing Commander Zhao.

_So it has begun_.

* * *

Zuko was annoyed he even had to go through this farce of a match. He already knew he would win. It was not a matter of being cocky, but facts. He and Azula sparred regularly and while he still couldn't beat her, he still held his own for the most part. 

There was no way Zhao was going to win. He would make sure of it. 

As they readied their stance, Azula called for it to start, and so they began. The flurry of flames and kicks and punches were flying by almost too fast to see. He dodged another blast from Zhao and scoffed. Azula’s flames were hotter than that so he barely felt it against his skin.

While firebenders had a much better tolerance for heat and fire, they could still be burned. This was commonly during training or Agni Kai’s since it could be harder to block the flames. Zhao’s flames were barely orange, so they were not as hot as Azula’s blue flames which definitely scorched skin when in contact. 

He had a few burns to prove it. But, not to be out done by Zhao of all people, Zuko summoned his “secret” weapon. He had recently found a way to make his fire hotter. Not as hot as the blue flames Azula wielded but hotter than most regular firebenders. A red flame sprouted from his hands. It took a while for him to summon it, he had to warm up his flames first, so it took a few minutes but after that he could keep it at that color. They were red like the color of blood, which he was not a huge fan of, but he’d take improvements where he could get them. Taking a moment of Zhao’s confusion to his advantage, he knocked him down with a blast of fire, and a sweeping kick to his right leg hard enough to hear a crack in one of the leg bones. Walking to him, squatting down, he looked at him. 

He held his knife, the one thing he kept from before his mother left, and held it to Zhao’s throat. “Seems like I won. Should I finish the job? I already have you where I want you.”

Zhao looked shocked he was beaten, although Zuko was not sure why. “You have not won until I am unable to fight anymore.” 

Zuko scoffed, “Looks to me you’re already unable to continue. I broke your leg. You won’t be moving anytime soon.” He pointed the knife to Zhao’s face, moving it from his throat. “Unless you’d like me to end you for once and all. It is an appealing thought, I’ll admit.”

“Prince Zuko, you’ve already won, let him be. It would dishonorable to continue after you have already been declared the winner of this duel.” a new voice joined the fray 

Zuko turned around to see who would say that to him. “Uncle? I see you finally found us. Glad to see you again.” 

Zhao scoffed. “What a touching family reunion.”

Zuko glared at him. “You best still your tongue as I haven’t decided whether or not to end your pathetic life.”

“How scary.” 

Azula walked over, ignoring Zhao before nodding at their uncle. “Hello Iroh.”

He looked to her and Zuko. “Niece. It is nice to see you again.”

Azula scoffed. “Don’t lie. It’s unbecoming of you. Now, are you going to help us find the avatar or not. If not, then I wish for you to be on your way.”

Iroh nodded and they began walking away. Unbeknownst to them, Zhao had gotten up and had thrown a last ditch fire blast towards Zuko.Iroh deflected it and Azula turned around, fire already ready for combat.

Zuko held out his hand. _I’ll deal with it, don’t worry._ She nodded. 

Zuko walked towards Zhao who could barely stand and harshly kicked him in his non injured leg. Not hard enough to break the other one, but enough to make standing hurt for the next few weeks. Zuko squatted down again sans knife. “Trying to catch a man unaware when his back turned? Pathetic. And exactly what I expected from you Zhao. I presume we won;t have an issue with us going to find the avatar then?” He patted Zhao’s face condescendingly. “I’m glad we have an understanding.”

He ignored Zhao’s curses and the group of three walked to the ship. 

* * *

“It has been a few years uncle.” Zuko said, sipping a cup of tea Iroh had made when reaching the ship,

Azula left hers unzipped, deigning to just look at him. 

Iroh chickled. “Not for my lack of trying. You both employ a great skill at hiding. I always managed to miss you by a day or even a few hours.” 

Zuko nodded. “Father always said to stay a couple steps of your enemy. Not that you were our enemy, but the saying goes all the same.”

Azula spoke up for the first time. “So are you really going to help us? We won’t stand for anyone slowing our mission down.” 

Zuko nodded. “This is my chance to prove I will be ready to take over the throne when Father steps down. Or dies. Whichever comes first.”

Azula muttered under her breath, “Although the second one is much more likely.”

Zuko gave her an amused smile as Iroh gave both of them a look. “I agree, my brother would not give up his throne easily.” He poured himself another cup. “I want to see your current plans. While you are both good at strategizing I think it might help to have someone with actual experience look them over. And when I’m done, Zuko, I would like to have a talk with you. ”

Zuko nodded and led them to the planning room. So they began to set up plans to try and capture the avatar.

* * *

After their uncle retired to bed, Azula and Zuko sat across the dining table eating a late night dinner. The meeting had lasted a few hours so they were tired. “Today was eventful.” 

Zuko sighed. “I know. I wish that fool Zhao wasn’t here. I’m pretty sure if we weren’t enemies before we are now.”

Azula shrugged, picking up a spoonful of her dinner. “At least he’s not much of a threat.”

“True.”

Zuko’s thoughts had been running around like crazy since he saw their uncle again. “Do you think Father knows uncle is here? You told me he said to leave before uncle found out we were going.”

Azula nodded. “I’ll assume he doesn't, but we can never be too sure.” She paused, frowned. “What do you think his angle is?”

“Angle?”

“Like why he appeared. I know why _we_ wanted him here, but why does _he_ want to be here? I doubt it’s just because he’s concerned.” 

Zuko nodded. “It’s suspicious to say the least.”

“We’ll then, we’ll just have to keep an eye out on him.” She got up and grabbed her now empty plate. “After all, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

“But uncle isnt our enemy or our friend.”

“Maybe so, but it can’t hurt to keep an eye on him anyways.” she got up and started walking away. “Good night Zuko. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

Zuko nodded, waving her away.

The thoughts continued to bubble over, leaving him unsure of his next move. _What are you up to uncle, and why do you want to help us so much?_

He shook his head and got ready for bed. 

He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

_“You have failed me, Zuko.” his father had said. The wall of flames rose higher both in height and temperature. He could feel himself shiver in apprehension for what was to come. It was not going to be pretty._

_“I apologize Father.” his head hung down low, recognizing his shame._

_“I do not want your worthless apologies. I want results. Results you have consistently been unable to prove to me.” Ozai looked down on his son. “Unlike your sister, who has excelled in everything. Wasn’t she the one who had led the avatar chase? I should have never let you go on with her. I thought you had changed and had not become a disgrace to the Fire Nation Royal Family.” A tension filled pause passed. Zuko flinched. “I see I was wrong.”_

_His head snapped up. “Please Father! I will do anything to regain my standing.”_

_“Anything?” Ozai said, thinking of his son’s request. “FIne then.” Zuko felt relief pulse through him. ‘Father is going to give me another chance even after I foolishly allowed the avatar escape.’ “We will fight an Agni Kai. If you win, I will not punish you for your mistake.’_

_Zuko felt all the relief at his Father’s words vanish. “What?”_

_Zuko looked at his Father who looked annoyed. “I will not repeat myself. You are not as deaf as you are stupid are you?”_

_Zuko quickly shook his head. “No Father.”_

_“Rise up then. We will start this at once.”_

_As Zuko got up from kneeling, the scenery changed. It was now the area for Agni Kai’s. The crowd was screaming. ‘How did so many people get here already?’_

_He ignored that and focused on his opponent. He needed to do his best, or he would never regain Father’s favor. He would be a dishonorable Prince. And that would not do. He stepped on the ring and shed his shirt._

_He turned and saw his Father look at him, with a malicious glint in his eye._

_The fight started and next thing he knew he was kneeling in front of his father, after being kicked down. He could hear himself begging, asking his Father to please forgive him and that he was sorry._

_His Father put his hand on his face, and for one minute he thought his Father was holding his face with his hand. “Pathetic.” Ozai sneered._

_The last thing he remembers was the agonizing pain against his eye as his world was lit up in flames._

* * *

Zuko woke up screaming. Azula ran into his room as Zuko hastily checked his eye. _Unblemished_.

“What happened?” she said, barreling into his room, altered by his scream.

He turned to her and with the most determined face he could muster, he said, “We need to find the avatar. Now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i mention how much i don't like zhao. well i hope it shows in this chapter. idk if red fire even exists but i thought it was cool and wanted to give zuko a new color. is he op? a bit. do i care? no. also in case it wasn't clear, the dream sequence was not a memory, it never happened. zuko is just worried lol. 
> 
> also if any of you catch that sao abridged joke let me know.
> 
> to end this too long authors note, heres a fun fact: in this story the word "father" is always capitalized because zuko and azula both hold their father to a high esteem and have a lot of respect for him; whereas with iroh, "uncle" is lowercase to show their distance and how they don't hold the same respect they hold for their father.


	5. your secret's out and the best part is it isn't even a good one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has lots: azula threatening pirates! sibling banter! actual plot development!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chapter and the next are technically switched time wise bc i forgot this episode happened after iroh got kidnapped but whatever. i'm already messing with canon so yeah.
> 
> also i have every chapter (mostly) plotted out, and it's going to be about forty or so chapters. i probably wont update again this week since i'm moving back for the spring semester, so i hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> why is chapter titling so hard. chapter title from (as almost always) fob's 'get busy living or get busy dying'.

They had  _ just _ missed them. Zuko looked over the remains of the former Fire Nation prison and shook his head.  _ Why was it so hard to find competent men these days? _ he thought. Azula was questioning (threatening) the men to find out what had happened here. It was clear though-there had been an escape. Zuko did not pity anyone who worked here when word got back to the capital city, that's for sure. 

“Zuko, over here.” Azula said, gesturing to where she was standing. He walked over to her and saw she was holding something in her hand. It looked like a necklace of some sort. Not Fire Nation though. 

“What did you find?” he said, holding out his hand for her to give the item to him. She handed it over and he examined it more closely. It had a blue ribbon with a lighter pendant type thing in the middle.  _ Very distinctly a Water Tribe necklace. I remember reading they gave necklaces as engagement items.  _ Zuko thought to himself, throwing the necklace back to Azula. “It’s definitely a necklace from the Water Tribe. I think they used it as some type of engagement thing, though I can't be sure.”

Azula frowns. “Do you think it’s from one of the Avatar’s companions?” 

“It’s possible. That girl  _ was _ wearing a necklace when we met her. I think it belonged to her.”

Azula held up the necklace and looked at it. “Do you think it was important to her?”

“Probably. What do you want to do with it?”

“Aside from just throwing it in the ocean for it to never be seen again?”

“That’s a bad idea. Although it could be fun.”

Azula pursed her lips in thought. “Well we  _ could _ use it to find them somehow. Wasn’t there a woman who had an animal who could find anything once given a scent?”

“Yeah, I think I remember Father mentioning her once to find a traitor.” Zuko frowned. “It will probably be a lot though.”

Azula merely laughed. “We’re  _ royalty _ , Zuko.” the sharp glint of humor flashed across her eyes. “Price isn’t going to be a problem.”

* * *

Azula was already regretting letting their uncle join them. It felt like he was  _ purposely _ slowing them down, but in a way that seems innocuous. Zuko noticed too but neither of them would bring it up. No sense in shattering trust over something they couldn’t confirm one hundred percent.

“Why are we out shopping?” Azula grumbled. “I  _ thought _ we were going to find the avatar, not a great sale on a tea set.” 

Zuko looked around the busy market. They certainly stood out, with their clearly royal armor and hair pieces signifying they were royalty. Iroh has suggested they change and appear more of a low profile but both herself and Zuko looked disgusted by that idea. They had split off after a few minutes, with Zuko going with their uncle to go find his tea set. 

_What was the point of going out if people didn’t know who you were?_ _We already went incognito and it was such a drain. I’m not doing that again. _Azula thought, looking at a few knives. _It is Zuko’s birthday soon, so he might like these_. They hadn’t celebrated their birthdays since they left the palace, just a gift from each other on the day of. Avatar hunting was much more important, they both agreed. Of course, Azula would never actually _tell_ Zuko she was looking for a present for him. 

He’d still know so she didn't have to say anything. While she doubted anything in this rinky-dink shop would be good enough, it didn’t hurt to try and look. 

As she was looking around she heard snippets of conversation behind her. She didn’t pay attention until they mentioned a group of three teens that had stolen from them-a girl specifically. Her head snapped over to them and she marched over.

“Hello boys, I heard you have a thief problem.” She smiled sharply. “I think it would be in both of our interests in helping out each other. So, why don’t you tell me everything you know?”

“And why would we do that?”

“Because,” she scoffed, “I know exactly where they are going.” she paused again, long enough for their attention to be solely on her. “And besides, I’m sure you wouldn't want the Firelord to know you’ve been  _ stealing _ from him.”

They two looked at her in shock, and she raised an eyebrow. They shifted and Azula sighed again. “I sure hope you don't plan on attacking me. It would be quite foolish on your part.”

Of course, they didn't take her seriously, so she struck before either of them could get her. She knocked out one of them and pinned the others head against the table with her hand, making it hard for him to breathe. “So, then, do we have a deal? I’d hate to sink your enterprise so soon, you seem to be doing so well.”

The man grumbled so she pressed harder, making it more difficult for him to breathe. Finally he acquiesced and she smiled viciously. “See, not that hard.” She wrote down an address. “Meet us here at this time. If you don't,” she smiled sweetly, the threat of violence underlying her words. “I  _ will _ find you, and this time I won't be so nice.” 

She pat his head condescendingly and walked out. 

What a shame, she hadn’t even found a gift. 

At least she had a plan to capture the avatar. 

* * *

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “What have you been up to?”

Azula shrugged. “Just threatening some pirates.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Did you find anything you wanted?”

Azula hmmed in thought. “I did find out the avatar and his compatriots had passed through here, and apparently the girl had stolen a water bending scroll. So I graciously offered my help and they agreed. You still have her necklace right?”

Zuko nodded in affirmation. “You ‘graciously offered’ to help them?”

She could  _ hear _ the air quotes in that sentence. “I can be kind.” she said haughtily.

“Sure you can. But this is _not_ one of those times.” 

Azula whipped around. “I am the picture of niceness! Ask anyone!”

Zuko smirked. “My apologies, of course you are. You are the most magnanimous person I have ever met.”

Azula scowled at him. A crew member made the most unfortunate decision to walk by and paled when Azula called him over. “You! I’m nice right?”

Zuko hid his laughter as the crew member started stuttering about how she was right. “Of course Princess Azula!”

Zuko decided to be merciful for once and said to the crew-mate, “You can go now.” The crew-mate left speedily, practically running to get out of there. 

Azula and Zuko watched him retreat and Azula crossed her arms. Zuko turned to her, humor gleaming in his eyes, “Oh yeah, so nice.” 

Azula pushed him and walked away. “Shut up.”

His laughter followed her as she left. 

* * *

“So you think they’ll be here?” Zuko frowned. They had to stay hidden so that the group wouldn't seen them yet. The plan was to corner them in a few hours. Although it would be worthless if the people they wanted to corner weren't there. A huge splash and yelling was heard. 

“Oh they’re here. It’s incredibly loud.” Azula said from her vantage spot. 

“Then we can proceed with the plan.”

An hour later they were in the strategy room, planning out how exactly the exchange would go. “The avatar is crafty, he will try and get out of this. We need to cover all the possible outcomes so we won’t be left as fools again.”

Zuko nodded. “We trade the necklace for the scroll, and once the pirates get the scroll, we capture the avatar.”

“He might try to barter himself to get away and cause in-fighting among them. So how to solve that?”

Zuko tapped his pencil against the papers. “We could say we aren’t above destroying the necklace. Wait until they have the scroll, throw the necklace in the water and catch him then when he’s unprepared?”

“That could work. We just need to keep a sharp eye out. They are a surprisingly tricky bunch, after all.”

Iroh knocked on the door. “Are you planning another capture?”

Azula looked annoyed at the intrusion. “Yes we were, in fact.”

“So what do you plan to do when you have captured him?”

Zuko gave their uncle a look. “Take him back to the palace? What else would we do? Join him?”

A look flashed across Iroh’s face but it was gone before either of them had a chance to understand it. “I suppose that is true.” 

“Besides, Father was very specific that we must deliver him to the palace so that he couldn't cause trouble.”

Zuko put his pencils down and gathered up their plans so far. “Yeah, Father must have a plan for when we get back. It is not our place to question what he is going to do. Only to fulfill his orders.”

Azula nodded and then got up from her seat. “We should get something to eat before we go. I doubt it will be easy afterwards, regardless of if we catch him or not.”

They both walked off, Iroh trailing behind. “I wonder what we have today.”

Zuko shrugged. “Probably the same as usual.”

They got their food and sat down. As they made idle chit chat, Iroh spoke again. “Prince Zuko.” he said, getting Zuko to look over to him. “It is your birthday soon is it not?”

Zuko shrugged. “I guess so. In a few weeks. Why?”

“I was wondering if you had any plans for that.”

“The only plan I have is catching the avatar. We don’t have time for such frivolity.” he said, waving his hand.

A sad look crossed Iroh’s face. “Is that what you truly believe?”

“Yeah. We can celebrate when we are back at the palace and have caught the avatar.” Zuko shrugged again. “Besides I would rather celebrate his capture than me turning a year older. The former is far more impressive anyway.” 

Iroh turned to Azula. “And what do you think of ghis?”

Azula felt a shocked look pass across her face before she smoothed her face into a neutral look. “I think it’s Zuko’s choice, but he is not incorrect. Catching the avatar  _ is _ far more impressive at any rate.” 

Zuko stabbed his dinner with his fork and took a bite. “Besides, Azula and I usually just get one gift for each other and that's it.”

This time it’s Iroh who is surprised. “ _ Azula _ gets you a gift?”

Azula gives him an unkind look. “Don’t act so surprised. I  _ do _ have manners.”

Zuko smirks. “Oh right, I forgot. It's because you’re so nice.” 

Azula scowls and hits him on the arm as he lets out a laugh. “I thought I told you to be quiet.” 

Iroh smiles softly as the sibling bickering takes place in front of him, finishing his dinner to prepare for the night's activity.  _ It’s nice to see them act as siblings. _

* * *

“Is everyone ready?” Azula said, looking shrewdly over them all. They had walked a bit farther than they had wanted to, but they had still got there in time. The group waited for the pirates to capture Katara and tie her to the tree. Zuko turned to Azula, “Was the tree thing necessary?”

Azula turned to him. “Not really, I just needed somewhere for her to be tied up.” 

“Shall we go then? I believe it’s time to capture the avatar.”

She nodded and they jumped down from their perch. “Thank you pirates, that will be enough for now.”

The girl glared back at them Azula walked up to her and smiled. The air was thick with tension. They just needed the avatar to find her and they would have him. Still, they couldn't get too cocky, or something would fall apart. 

“I’m Princess Azula. We met at your home when we first spotted the avatar. It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl glared again. Azula still kept her smile, although it was not one of happiness. It reminded Zuko of a snake waiting to strike.. She laughed and said, “Ah, that’s right, You aren't exactly in the position to shake hands.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Azula, the point.” 

Azula looked at him, falsely cheerful. “But Zuko, I’m just trying to get to know our prisoner. We don’t even know her name.”

The girl was still stubbornly silent. “Ah oh well, I guess we cant be sure this is hers then.” She held her hand out, holding the necklace they had found. She throws it to Zuko. “What a shame.”

The girl’s eyes widen and she blurts out, “That’s my mother’s necklace!”

Zuko holds it up and looks at it, and then her. “So it’s not an engagement thing then like I thought. Interesting.”

The girl looks like she's fighting herself, trying to decide if she should say anything. “It is. My father gave it to my mother when he proposed.” She gave him a questioning look. “Why do you even care?”

Zuko shrugged. “Just curious I guess. Wanted to see if I was right.” A moment passed. “So will you tell us your name. Calling you ‘the girl’ is getting tiring.”

She was quiet for another moment. “Katara.”

“Well, that's lovely. Now tell us-” before Azula can get out her sentence a loud shout interrupts her. 

The avatar and his friend were here. “Katara, are you okay?” he said. 

She nodded. “I am. But they have mom’s necklace.” 

The boy looked over to him. He shrugged and the boy stood in a fighting stance. “I don’t think you want to do that. You remember what happened last time you challenged me.” He looked at their target. “Besides, we’re not here for you. I could care less what happens to you and this necklace. We only want the avatar. And not to mention you stole a scroll from these people.”

The boy, who assumes is the brother, sputters. “Katara! You stole a scroll?” 

Katara doesn't even look ashamed. “I had to Sokka! How else was I going to learn waterbending and teach Aang?”

Ah, so that was his name. Good to know for future reference. 

“So we have set up a trade. The scroll for them, and we’ll give you the necklace.” Zuko pointed at them.

“And what do you get out of it. Why would you just give away the necklace?” the boy-Sokka-asked.

“None of your business.” 

“Well, that’s not shady at  _ all _ .”

Zuko ignored him. “So, do we have a deal?”

* * *

“All that work and they still manage to mess it up!” Zuko shouts as they walk back. “At this point I almost don’t want to go back because it’s shameful how long it has taken us to get him!”

Azula looked at him. “Father will be more angry if we come back empty handed than if it took a few years. He knew it would be a long trip. I told him myself.”

Zuko looked a bit relieved. “I know, I’m sorry. I just...I know it’s not as bad as when we were kids but I hate the thought of it going back to how it was then. I was weak...and I can’t ever go back to being weak. Especially in Father’s eyes. Not when he has finally actually considered me as someone who could inherit the throne.”

Azula nodded. “I know Zuko. But enough of this whining, we will get him next time. He won’t be able to escape  _ both _ of us for much longer.” 

“Now where is uncle? It’s time to pack up this farce of a mission and get back to strategizing.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> off topic but jujustsu kaisen is amazing and you should all watch it. 
> 
> also i am bad at writing action scenes so i mostly just gloss over them lol. this story is mostly focused on azula and zuko, so team avatar won't appear that much, everything they do off screen is basically the same for now. we've still got a few chapters before we hit the actual canon divergence. 
> 
> basically iroh in this story: *frantic googling* "how to convince my niece and nephew to commit treason with me"


	6. chasing the direction (chasing the direction you went)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh gets kidnapped, Azula and Zuko set up a plan and have a conversation with two surprising people, and also discuss future plans against the avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well back to posting. this is where we start getting canon divergent. not majorly, as this is will still mostly follow the plot, but enough that it will be noticeable.
> 
> title from fob's "27"

_ I can’t believe he wandered off! _ Azula thought as she looked for her uncle. She was not happy to be doing such a thing, and even suggested they leave without him.  _ It would certainly get rid of one of our problems. _

Zuko was walking next to her. “I think we should split up. We could cover more ground.”

“Agreed.”  _ And if I find him, we can always have a chat without the chance of someone interfering.  _

A while passed by and she finally saw him, although she wished she hadn’t. He was in the middle of a clearing, apparently enjoying a hot tub. The anger she had been suppressing had boiled over. 

Stalking over angrily she said, “ _ Why _ are you in a makeshift hot tub?” 

“A man needs relaxation time.” 

Azula threw her hands up in the air. “We don't have  _ time _ for relaxation!” She glared at him. “Be on the ship in the next five minutes or we will be leaving you.”

* * *

He was gone. Zuko frowned as Azula was about ready to leave. “He’s not here.”

Azula scowled. “I gave him five minutes. Besides, we have to get to the island before the avatar so we can set up our trap.”

Zuko frowned. “Something is wrong.”

“Yeah, us waiting for him.”

“No…” Zuko trailed off. “It’s just wrong.”

Azula rolled her eyes. “What are you, a spiritual beacon now?”

“It’s nothing like that.” Zuko walks off the ship. “I’m going to check on him, if he is just sitting there we can leave him.”

Azula sighed in annoyance. “Fine. I’ll be here.”

Walking over to the make-shift hot tub, he saw there was no one there. Looking around it was obvious there was some type of struggle, minimum at least. Leaves displaced and foot prints he didn’t recognize.

He sighed. Hearing the brush ramble behind him he didn’t even turn around and addressed the person behind him. “He’s been kidnapped.”

“Then let’s leave him where he is. We don’t have the time to go after him.”

“I can get him, you go ahead to get him.” 

“Why do you care so much?”

“I don’t...well a little bit. He is useful in planning things. When he bothers to help.”

“Fine. But I’m going too. These people got in our way and slowed us down. I don’t appreciate that.”

“Of course.”

* * *

Watching these people form the rocks was interesting. Azula knew he could break from the poorly constructed prison. He was the Dragon of the West! And yet he just let them carry him on.

“Pathetic.” she muttered to herself. 

Beside her, Zuko ignored her and was focusing on their uncle. She could see his mind spinning with thoughts on how they could get him. 

“Are you okay with casualties?” he asked.

She gave him a look. “Are you serious?”

He shrugged. “Just checking.”

They sprung down and got rid of the envoy. Azula looked to her uncle, who did not look impressed. She felt irritation spike through her.  _ It’s his fault for getting captured! _

“Thank you for the save but was the body count necessary?” he said dryly.

Zuko and Azula passed a look to one another. Zuko raised an eyebrow. “You of all people know what happens when you leave enemies alive. We couldn’t take the chance they would escape and run to their camp or whoever they were taking you to. There could have been hundreds and we would have no intel about them.”

Azula scoffed. “Be grateful we even rescued you.  _ I _ wanted to leave the port without you.”

They unbound him. Zuko looked around the area. The would-be captors were laid sprawled out on the ground. “We should go back. We have no idea how big their group was and if more will come looking for them.”

As they silently trekked back Azula was thinking. Ignoring her uncle, she turned to her brother. “Why is it you think our strategies haven’t been working? You think with both of us we’d be able to capture him easily.”

Zuko shrugged. “Not sure. I guess he’s the avatar for a reason.”

Iroh nodded. “It would do you good to not underestimate your opponent and overestimate yourself.”

Zuko scowled and Azula scoffed. “It’s not an overestimation if it’s true.”

At Iroh’s sage look, Azula threw her hands up and stalked away angrily. Zuko followed quietly, with Iroh sighing. 

Walking onto the ship, Azula stopped by the planning room. She sat down and leafed through the plans. She looked up as her brother slumped down in the seat next to her. She swatted his shoulder and said, “Princes don’t slouch.”

He rolled his eyes.  _ Honestly quite disrespectful. _ she thought. “Relax. It’s not like our teachers are here to see me.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Have the years at sea made you forget etiquette?”

He laid his head on the table. “How could I when it was all but beaten into us. I could have amnesia and still remember the lessons.”

Azula ignored his whining and focused on the plans again. “Stop whining and actually help me. Who knows, this might be the plan that nabs him.”

Zuko let out a long suffering sigh. “I doubt it.” 

* * *

_ Zuko, in a surprising turn of events, was actually right. _ She thought.  _ I shouldn’t be so surprised, since it actually happens occasionally. _

She put her thoughts away. 

She has a bigger issue to deal with. Zhao reappeared like he hadn’t been beat by a teenager in combat a while ago. 

“Zhao I didn’t realize the circus was in town again.” She said, looking at him critically. 

He ignored her words only to say, “Nice try, your brother used that one last time.”

She turned to Zuko, who shrugged. “I guess I did. He’s easy to mock so I’m sure I said it at one point.” 

They, of course, were not actually bound.  _ Like that fool Zhao could actually tie knots that could bind us.  _

This was nothing compared to their training with their teachers. Or even Father. _Compared to that, this is a walk in the palace_ gardens.  


“Why are you here Zhao?” She said.

“Why, the same reason as you.” At the pause she motioned him to keep going as well as she could without the use of her hands. “To capture the avatar, of course.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know that’s our mission. Why are you trying to insert yourself where you are not wanted.”

“Your father felt it was taking quite a bit of time. He understands that it is a difficult task for just two people, so he sent me along to help.”

“Well you have been doing the exact opposite.” Zuko muttered.

“Besides, what would he say when he learns how many times you let the avatar escape. He might not be as forgiving as I am against your transgressions.”

Both Azula and Zuko stilled.

The other people in the room, the avatar’s two companions, were watching this like a tennis match.

Zhao scowled at the rest of them. “Put all of them in a room. I can’t have them interfering. We need to be prepared for when the avatar leaves the room.”

_ Like that will hold any of us.  _ she thought.  _ Well, maybe the other one but not the rest of us.  _

They were roughly escorted to their “cell.” Their two companions were silently judging them. As soon as the guards left Azula untied her rope. “Ah, much better.”

The two looked shocked she had been able to escape. Zuko pulled his hands out and held the rope or whatever material it was in his hands. 

The other big spoke up. “Are you guys like...superhuman or something? This rope is tired pretty securely.”

She scoffed at the notion. “Hardly. We’ve had higher stakes with harder ropes to untie.”

At the inquisitive look she received she looked to Zuko to elaborate. Explaining to the peasants how royal Fire Nation training works was below her. 

“During our training, we had a section of kidnappings and we had to untie the knots and “escape”. The faster we escaped the better our reward was. Azula,” he pointed to her with his thumb. “always beat me but I was still pretty decent.” He looked at his hand. “Plus if you’re willing to break your thumb getting out of anything is easy. Just a bit painful.” 

The twos eyes widened. “Why would you break your thumb?!” 

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “So I can escape? I’m not sure about you guys but I don’t want our Father learning about us being here.”

The girl, who had been silent until now looked between them. “And why is that? I’m sure the  _ Firelord _ would love to know his children are back.”

Azula rolled her eyes. She felt like ever since she had started this mission that was all she had been doing. “We can’t come back without the avatar. If we did we might as well banish ourselves.”

“ _ Banish _ ?” the boy shrieked.

Zuko gave him a look that meant he was questioning his intelligence. “We were told to come back with the avatar. If our learns that we not only  _ had _ the avatar, but  _ lost _ him and  _ kept _ losing him, we would face punishment. The Firelord cannot have weak heirs.”

“Okay, but your punishment wouldn’t be that bad right?” the boys tone edged a bit on desperate.

Zuko gave him a flat look. “He was going to kill me when I was born because he thought I wasn’t a bender. I wouldn’t put it past him.” 

Azula gave him a look.  _ Why would he keep something like that a secret?! _ “You never told  _ that _ .” 

He shrugged. “I thought you knew? Fathers previous disdain for me wasn’t exactly a secret. I’m just glad we were able to turn it around.”

“Dude.” she turned to the boy, who looked a bit pale. “That’s messed up.”

Zuko glared at him. “Do not disrespect my Father by insulting him. He does what needs to be done. Azula was stronger than me, so she had deserved the throne more than I.”

Azula raised an eyebrow. “Deserv _ ed _ ?”

Zuko smirked at her. “Of course. I have claim to the throne. Of course I’ll have you be on the council. I can’t  _ stand  _ those on there and want you to...set them straight.”

She smirked. “Don’t think I’m letting you get the crown  _ that _ easily. But for now I’ll concede. This isn’t the best place to have this conversation.” She pointed to their flabbergasted audience. 

Zuko laughed. “Good idea. Do you think the avatar-“ a loud sound of destruction cut off his sentence. 

“I do. Let’s get our now before word reaches that we were here. We need to regroup.” 

They escaped, leaving the other two to find the avatar for themselves. They would have time to find him. Zhao ruined their trap by showing up sit there was no point in trying to get him. Not to mention, the Fire Temple was falling down around them and Azula was not about to end her mission here because of a falling down building. 

“Let’s go.” She urged and they ran out to their ship just in time for the building to fall down all the way. 

As they sailed away looking at the ruins of the temple, she turned to Zuko. “I blame our uncle for this.”

Zuko just let out a sigh.

* * *

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will ever happen.” Azula said, tapping her pen against the desk.

“What are you thinking?” Zuko asked, leading through the papers trying to organize them.

“Well the avatar is a child, correct?” 

Zuko stopped looking through the papers to look at her, confused. “Yeah?”

Azula ignored his look at her and continued in. “So it would be safe to say that if an enemy came up to him, one that hadn’t been directly antagonizing him, went to him to say they had changed sides he would believe them?”

Zuko understood where she was going. “Perhaps. It will all depend on if that enemy was able to convince him somehow.”

“Oh I’m sure that will be easy.” Azula said, waving away his concerns. “You are quite good at acting, although not as good as I am.”

Zuko had a far away look, contemplating this action. “I’ll consider it. But we can’t tell anyone. I don’t want them to find out and accidentally spread it airing and compromise my position. Will you alert Father?”

Azula nodded. “I told him it was possible we may have to “work” with the avatar in order to capture him. He was not happy about it but was amendable to the idea since I framed it in such a way.”

Zuko nodded. “Then I’ll wait, and see if there’s an opportunity to use this plan. For now it will wait as a back up plan.”

Azula nodded. “Well then Zuko, if it happens, from that point on we will be enemies.”

_ Now, that would be interesting. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like making fun of zhao what can i say. school starts next week so updates will probably slow down. also i just started playing genshin impact, so that's also why it took so long to update again lmao. well that, and getting ready for school, but i digress.


	7. Put your ear to the speaker and choose love or sympathy (but never both, love never wanted me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthday celebrations!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this is a filler chapter. also toph makes a cameo! idk if this is series-realistic for firebenders but i don't really care, i thought it would be a fun idea. idk what kids are like so suspend your disbelief in those parts with kid zuko. 
> 
> hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
> 
> i'm trying to update once a week but since the semester started no promises.

_ When Zuko was two, almost three he learned he was going to have a sister. He knew it was because he wasn’t what his father wanted. He heard the remarks, not that his father bothered to hide his disdain anyway. _

_ “Does he hate me?” he asked his mother one day, as they were sitting by the pool.  _

_ She turned to him with a shocked expression. Then her face softened and she brushed his bangs from his eyes. “Of course not honey. He just has very high standards that can be hard to achieve. Especially when you’re so young.” _

_ (He didn’t hear the unspoken ‘since you can’t even bend.’ It was coming up on his third birthday and he hadn’t even been able to make sparks. Ursa, to say the least, was worried. It was getting harder and harder to convince Ozai that Zuko was not to be “disposed” of. Especially since the announcement of another heir.)  _

_ Zuko gave his mother a blinding smile. “Is it a girl or boy? I hope it’s a girl since I want a sister!”  _

_ She laughed and looked into the pool. “We won’t know for a few months. But when I find out, I’ll be sure to tell you.”  _

_ “I’m going to be the best big brother ever! Don’t worry mom. You’ll be so proud of me!” _

_ She ruffled his hair again. “Oh Zuko, I’ll always be proud of you. No matter what.” _

* * *

_ It’s Zuko’s birthday. _ Azula thought to herself upon waking up. She carefully got out of bed and walked over to her vanity. Picking up the brush, she brushed through the tangles sleep had brought. Upon finishing she twisted up her hair and put her hair piece in. 

While she had just turned fourteen, Zuko was turning sixteen. She had a vague memory of being younger and being excited to celebrate his birthday with them, Ursa smiling softly as Zuko blew out his candles. They always had extravagant birthdays, with people coming far and wise to give presents to gain favor from the Firelord. 

_ Not that he cared _ . Azula thought.  _ But it’s all changed now. I made sure of it. _

She clenched her fists and shoved the thoughts down. She had to go celebrate her stupid brothers birthday. 

She grabbed the gift and walked down to the common area for food. The last few years had not been extravagant parties with mountains of presents. It had been a simple “Happy Birthday, dummy.” With a single gift. 

They had more important things to think about anyway. 

As Zuko walked in, she smirked at him. “Happy Birthday my dear brother.” 

He gave her an unimpressed look. “What did you do now?”

She held her hand to her chest and feigned innocence. “I can’t believe you would accuse your  _ sister _ of such a nefarious thing.”

“Azula you’re the  _ definition  _ of nefarious.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Here’s your gift. Be happy I even got you anything. I was this close” she hold her pointer finger and thumb very close together but not touching, “to not getting you anything.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “As always I appreciate the tireless effort on your behalf.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Hardly. I just stole this knife from the pirates. Your old one was lost right?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Don’t even mention it.” she said, pointing the knife at him.

At the same time, Iroh walked in and saw her pointing the knife at him. At this display he raised an eyebrow. “Prince Zuko, why is there a knife pointed at you?”

Azula scowled at him. “It's his birthday present.”

Nodding like that cleared up anything, Zuko said, “She put so much thought into it too. Swiping it from the pirates.” 

She hit him hard on the shoulder. “If you keep complaining, I’m throwing it overboard.”

“Princess Azula, I’m sure your brother is grateful for his gift. It is not a time for threatening.” 

Zuko swiped the knife from her. “I disagree. There is always a time for threatening.”

Azula rolled her eyes again. “Of course  _ you’d _ say that. You like threatening people.”

“Oh kettle, the pot called?” 

She hit him again, harder. He actually fell out of the seat this time, laughing. Iroh gave her an unrecognizable look and helped Zuko back up. “It is too early for these antics. We need to eat. Besides, today is your birthday. We have much to do.”

Zuko shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. I’m still not sure why it’s such a big deal. I’m just turning sixteen. Nothing special.”

Iroh shook his head. “Nonsense. Each year should be celebrated with great care.” 

Azula ignored him and said to Zuko. “I already gave you your gift, so I’m off the hook for another year.”

Zuko grinned. “Actually, I have an idea.”

She did not like the manic look in his eyes.

* * *

_ Zuko was excited. He was going to learn whether or not he was going to have a brother or sister today! He held his mother's hand as they walked to the place she had to go to find out. He wasn’t sure how it worked but he was ready to learn nonetheless. _

_ The healer beckoned them in and they stepped through the doorway. He saw Mother turn to him and tell him to wait there. “Why?” he pouted. “I want to know about the baby.” _

_ She ruffled his hair. “I know you do, but you’ll have to wait. I need to go by myself. I’ll tell you as soon as I get back.” _

_ Obviously, he was not going to wait around until she came back. He had been waiting for months to find out what the baby would be. A little sneaking around would be in order then.  _

_ He nodded, and she went off with the other lady. Zuko snuck around to hear what the healer and his mom were talking about. _

_ “-and I’m concerned about what could, no what will, happen if this baby is a boy. You know Ozai. You know how he is.” his mother said. _

_ “I do.” The healer said. “For all our sakes, let’s hope this is a girl. At the very least he won’t be able to get rid of Zuko then, since he’ll still have the heir he desires and Zuko will be more of an afterthought.”  _

_ Ursa nods. “That’s true. You know Zuko asked me the other day if Ozai hated him and I couldn’t bear to tell him the truth. It would have broken his heart. He’s still such a young boy, I can’t let him be ruined by the hardships of life yet.” _

_ He felt a pang of sadness rip through him. And disbelief. The healer and mother kept talking. But he didn’t focus on that.  _

_ “Anyway let’s see what gender the baby is.” A pause. “It’s a girl!”  _

_ He couldn’t even focus on the moment he had wanted to see, mind still reeling from the conversation he wasn’t supposed to hear. _

_ ‘She lied to me.’ he thought. ‘If she lied to me about that, what else could she be lying about?’ _

_ For the first time in his life, he had a seed of doubt regarding his mother.  _

* * *

“You want to...do what?” Azula said, raising her eyebrows in surprise, not that it was actually shocking, but still. 

Iroh was looking between them. “Perhaps this is not th beset idea. Maybe we should look for another area.” 

_ Well now I definitely will say yes. _ “Alright then, if that’s what you want.”

Iroh looked relieved and began to say that they should get ready for the day. 

She scoffed and turned away from him. “I was not talking to you. I was taking to Zuko.”

He looked up from his mostly finished meal. “You want to?”

She nodded. “The terms are agreeable. But we will need a new venue. This ship is hardly a sound arena.”

Zuko looked thoughtful. “We  _ are  _ docked now, so it would be easy to go and find an arena. I hear that in some cities they have underground ones too. That could be fun.” 

Azula smiled sharply. “Perfect.” 

“It will be a fun chance to try out our new disguises of anything.” 

Azula gave a look of disgust but relented. 

They headed out and Iroh wa trailing behind. “I must advise this is a terrible idea.”

Azula shrugged. “I will take that under advisement.”

“It’s my birthday and I want to do this. That’s my excuse.”

“You would want to do this even if it wasn’t your birthday.” 

Zuko waved his hand like this detail wasn’t important. “Semantics.” 

They arrived at the place and actually fit in quite well. As much as it disgusted Azula, they had Earth Kingdom clothes. Of course, it was of high quality, as she would not be caught in old robes. She was a princess, there was a certain 

amount of decorum needed! 

“Says we just need to pay the entrance fee and say what we want to be announced as.” 

“Easy enough.” 

They paid the fee and walked in. It was like a madhouse. People throwing rocks everywhere, fire sprouting from another corner. It was absolutely wild, and Azula was ready to crush the competition. “This is going to be fun.” she grinned wickedly.

Zuko sighed, “I almost wish I could go against an earth bender but then I would  _ be  _ an earth bender and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

Azula rolls her eyes for what felt like the millionth time. “We could crush them regardless.”

A whistle blew to remind everyone the matches would start. Azula had a blast destroying each enemy that crossed her path. Luckily, it wasn’t uncommon to see blue fire in those parts, so she didn’t stand out too much. Well besides absolutely dominating the competition. Of course she knew she would end up fighting her brother, that’s why they basically ended up going here anyway. 

As they got in her stance, she smirked. “It’s okay if you want to give up now to save yourself the embarrassment. I would understand.”

“Maybe you should take your own advice.” 

At that the whistle sounded and they clashed in a world of red, orange and blue. Red fire was not as common here, so Zuko kept his at the regular temperature to look like a normal fire bender. Sure this place was not actively against firebenders but that didn’t mean it was royal-friendly. 

She struck him with her fist and he sidestepped her. Her arc of fl,as sputtered as she missed the target. They sparred regularly so it want unheard of that they could keep up with each other. Well, for Zuko to keep up with her, anyways, since she was already passed him in lessons and skill.

Not that mattered. 

Seeing an opening, she took it and knocked down Zuko. He went down and she was crowned the victor, like she had planned. She held a hand up for her brother and he grabbed it.

“Congratulations, you get the losers award.” She said, talking about the second place award.

He rolled his eyes again and said, “You couldn’t even let me when on my own birthday?”

She turned away from him. “A win handed to you is not a win.”

“Whatever. Let us go see the other matches. I wonder if there is any good ones.”

As they walked over, she quietly said, “Zuko, you did a good job. If I wasn’t me you might have actually had a chance to beat me.” 

He turned to her and she slapped the back of his head. At a normal volume she said, “Why did you stop walking doofus, keep moving, we’re going to miss the match.” 

As the other matches started they watched in fascination as they people fought each other. While competing in her own matches it struck her as surprising that there was not a general disdain of the Fire Nation here, but then Azula remembered that Gaoling was pretty neutral as of now. No one really cared as long as there was money to be passed around.

_ Isn’t that how it always goes? _

Zuko nudged her out of her thoughts as she saw a young girl enter the ring. Her round was going to be an interesting show to see. Seeing as the girl was blind. 

“Is she blind?” Zuko asks her. 

“It does seem that way doesn’t it?” She tilted her head. “I’m sure she has a few tricks up her sleeve. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”

As usual, Azula was right. The girl seemed to know the opponents mines before they did.  _ It is truest fascinating to watch. _

She of course, won all her matches, Azula noted. 

“She’s pretty good.” Zuko said watching the girl destroy her last opponent. 

Azula nodded. “She is.”

They continue watching the matches until the girl is obviously crowned the winner. Zuko decides to go go up to her to chat and Azula follows. As the girl is leaving he calls out to her and she turns. 

“What do you want?”

“We just wanted to say that we watched your match. You’re quite good.” Zuko said.

The girl grinned. “Of course I am. I’m the best earth bender in the world.”

Azula felt a laugh bubble up. “That’s quite a bold claim from someone so young. How can you be so sure?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “How could I not.” Then she was quiet. “You’re the winner of the other tournament right? And the dude by you is the guy you fought at the end. Are you two related or something?”

“Siblings.” Zuko said. 

She nodded. “How could you tell?” Azula asked her. 

“Vibrations.” The girl said. Zuko was unsure if she was kiddng or not.  


Zuko let out a laugh. “You sound like our friend Tai Lee. She talks about auras and vibrations.” 

“Not like that. I feel the earth vibrations and can tell where people are. Among other things.” 

“Interesting.” A thought passed through Azula’s mind. “So that’s how you beat your opponents.”

The girl just offered a cheeky grin. Zuko gestured at her that I was time to go. “Well it was nice meeting you…?”

“The blind bandit.” The girl said.

They nodded, waved and went their separate ways. “Well that was fun,” Zuko said, as they walked back to the ship. 

“It was.” Azula agreed.

As they walked in the ship with their uncle in tow, who see,Ed to magically just appear, Azula found herself lost in thought.

“Back to avatar planning.” She said to him. “We’ve have wasted enough time today, and don’t need word getting back to Gather that we are neglecting our duties.”

Zuko nodded and they walked to the planning room.  _ Time to get serious again.  _

  
  


* * *

_ “Can I hold her mom?” Zuko asked. The baby had been born a few days ago and was finally able to be held by him.  _

_ “Of course sweetie. Be sure to hold her head too, she can’t do it herself.” Ursa said, looking at her two kids.  _

_ “Like this?” He asked her. _

_ “Exactly. Make sure your careful. We don’t want anything happening to her.” _

_ Zuko shook his head, “I won’t hurt her mom, don’t worry,” _

_ Ursa chuckled. “I know you wouldn’t, but it never hurts to be careful of your actions.” _

_ Zuko nodded, and looked at his new sister. Her name was Azula. She was very small. And loud. He heard her cries when he was trying to sleep and made resting more difficult than usual. But it didn’t matter that much.  _

_ He held her for a bit and gave her back. As soon as Ursa’s arms went to cradle her she started to cry. As soon as she was back in Zuko’s arms she stopped crying. _

_ Ursa chuckled again. “I guess she likes her big brother.” _

_ Zuko nodded. “Don’t worry mom, I’ll make sure to protect her when she’s older.” _

_ Ursa raised an eyebrow. “What if she protects you instead?” _

_ Zuko shrugged. “That’s fine, we’re siblings, so we should protect each other.” _

_ Ursa smiled. “That’s all I want Zuko.” _

_ He beamed at her and she smiled softly again. And in that moment, she was content.  _

_ (Years later Zuko would wonder why Azula did what she did. It’s not like they were close anymore. She didn’t need him, if anything, it was almost a hindrance to help him. But she did anyway.  _

_ Years later Ursa would wonder what happened to her children. She would mourn for the kids she remembered, feeling like the ones she saw were just strangers. When had it become like this?  _

_ Years later Azula would wonder why she felt the née to interfere. She didn’t care. In fact, it benefitted her that Zuko was weak in the eyes of their Father. She didn’t have any reasons to help him. Perhaps of a long forgotten memory of her brother smiling at her, promising to protect her. _

_ Who knows in the end.  _

_ Azula smiled at the flower she was holding before setting it on fire. ‘There is no room for empathy here.’) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from "XO" by fall out boy.


	8. Perfect boys with their perfect lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue spirit time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I was gone for so long, I had lots of assignments and was on a genshin grind. so here is where we officially get into canon divergence! i was pretty excited for this chapter so I hope you enjoy! if you want, comment on/kudos/subscribe to the story if you haven't already!

_ He’s at it again _ . Came the annoyed thought.  _ He’s ruining everything. As usual. _

Zuko let his head drop down on the desk. Azula raised her eyebrows at him. He groaned and responded to her unasked question. “It’s Zhao. He’s up to something.”

She shakes her head in disgust. “Of course he is. He captured the avatar, did you hear?”

“I did. Which means that I now have to...save him.” Disgust laced his tone. 

“How unfortunate.” 

“Truly.” 

“Are you planning on going now?” 

Zuko nodded. “I am. If I don’t come back, assume I’ve gone on to plan B.”

She nodded. “I’m displeased it had to come to this plan. I wish we could have gone a different way about this, but I suppose there is no choice.” 

Zuko slumped in the chair. “I guess so.”

Azula smirked, twiddling the pencil she was holding as she sat across him. “Well brother, it seems we will be enemies.” 

“It seems so dear sister.”

“I’ll see you again when you capture the avatar. Make sure to send me updates on how integration is. I’ll be waiting.” 

“I’ll do my best. Working two fronts should yield a much better success than we’ve had so far.”

“Let’s hope so. Now move on, you have an avatar to save.”

Zuko sighs, getting up.. “I hate this plan.”

* * *

_ “I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will ever happen.” Azula said, tapping her pen against the desk. _

_ “What are you thinking?” Zuko asked, leading through the papers trying to organize them. _

_ “Well the avatar is a child, correct?” _

_ Zuko stopped looking through the papers to look at her, confused. “Yeah?” _

_ Azula ignored his look at her and continued in. “So it would be safe to say that if an enemy came up to him, one that hadn’t been directly antagonizing him, went to him to say they had changed sides he would believe them?” _

_ Zuko understood where she was going. “Perhaps. It will all depend on if that enemy was able to convince him somehow.” _

_ “Oh I’m sure that will be easy.” Azula said, waving away his concerns. “You are quite good at acting, although not as good as I am.” _

_ Zuko had a far away look, contemplating this action. “I’ll consider it. But we can’t tell anyone. I don’t want them to find out and accidentally spread it airing and compromise my position. Will you alert Father?” _

_ Azula nodded. “I told him it was possible we may have to “work” with the avatar in order to capture him. He was not happy about it but was amenable to the idea since I framed it in such a way.” _

_ Zuko nodded. “Then I’ll wait, and see if there’s an opportunity to use this plan. For now it will wait as a backup plan.” _

_ Azula nodded. “Well then Zuko, if it happens, from that point on we will be enemies.” _

_ Zuko laughed. “Well now that i would like to see. What do you think our uncle would think?” _

_ Azula scoffed. “He would be happy probably. He thinks I am awful to you, a true pit of despair in your otherwise tragic life.” _

_ Zuko rolled his eyes. “Of course he does. He wasn’t around for most of our ‘sibling bonding’ was he?” he said, putting air quotes around the words ‘sibling bonding’.  _

_ “That he wasn’t.” she agreed. “We need a concrete plan for if and/or when it does happen.”  _

_ Zuko nodded. “I agree, we can’t go in blind. This is a delicate operation.” _

_ Azula gave him an amused look. “Delicate operation?” she said, also using air quotes around the words. “Who do you think you are? One of Father’s generals in the war chamber?”  _

_ Zuko shoved her, not too hard but enough she lost her balance a little. “Be quiet. I'm being serious. If we mess this up we could lose our chance for good. Despite being a child he is remarkably good at concealing his locations.” _

_ She sighed. “He is. I think what you should do is lie.” _

_ Zuko rolled his eyes. “Obviously. And water is wet. Tell me something I don't know, Azula.” _

_ She hit him on his shoulder. “No doofus, I mean use your tragic life as a way to integrate yourself with his team.” _

_ Zuko gave her a confused look. “But...I don’t  _ **_have_ ** _ a tragic upbringing.” _

_ ‘Why is he so dense?’ Azula thought, shaking her head. “Yeah, but  _ **_they_ ** _ don’t know that. Just tell them how your Father hated you growing up, and how mother pushed you away, how your sister was pitted against you, and the only person you had was your beloved uncle.”  _

_ A smile crossed his face. “Azula you’re a genius.” _

_ She grinned wickedly. “If you do this right, you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand.” _

_ “I may not be as good at manipulation as you, but if I can’t trick a kid my age and some others, what kind of future Firelord would I be?” Zuko said, smiling at her.  _

_ “A terrible one.” _

_ Azula smiled maliciously as the plan came together. While she hoped they would not have to use it, it was still good to have.  _

_ They’ll bring the avatar down one way or another. For the glory of the Fire Nation. And most importantly, Father.  _

* * *

Zuko was unhappy. Which is not usual for him, but this time he was even more unhappy than usual. He already did not like the Avatar, but this sealed the deal for him. It moved ‘minor dislike’ into ‘active dislike’. 

He gives the Avatar a scathing glare. “ _ Frogs _ ?” he hisses. 

The Avatar is sheepish. “They were for my friends who were sick!”

Zuko scoffed. “Out of every excuse I have ever heard, that is probably the dumbest yet.” 

“It isn’t a excuse! A herbalist said-” the Avatar said, ready to go on a long tangent about why the frogs were important. 

Zuko held up a hand. “I'm going to stop you right there and tell you I could not possibly care less.”

The Avatar pouted and mumbled what sounded like, “Well  _ you're _ the one who asked.”

Zuko elected to ignore it to preserve his already frayed control of his anger.  _ Deep breath.  _ He thought.  _ I can’t kill him. Azula would be furious. _ “We are going now. Or do you have more frogs to release?”

The Avatar had the  _ audacity _ to look sad when he said, “No more frogs.”

Zuko repressed the urge to scream. No one had tested him this much. He was almost ready to call it quits and leave him here. Only the urge to ruin Zhao’s day kept him there. 

“Fine. Follow me.  _ Don’t _ try anything or we will be caught.” 

“I promise.” the Avatar said, nodding happily. 

* * *

Zuko scowled. “What did I say?”

The Avatar looked meek. “Don’t do anything?”

Zuko could feel the thread holding his temper in check. “And what happened?”

“We’re cornered?”

Zuko scoffed under his mask. _Cornered. Please don't insult me like that._ “I’m never cornered.” 

Dispatching them was easy with a quick ploy. He hadn't counted on being hit with an arrow though. Blacking out his last thought was,  _ this is not how the plan is supposed to go. _

* * *

He woke up looking at the sky.  _ It’s a bit cloudy today _ . Was his first thought.  _ Wait, where is my mask? _ Was his second.  _ Where is the avatar? _ Had him searching around the clearing before seeing him against the tree. 

_ The show begins. _ He takes a moment to ready himself, and then slips on his mask. Metaphorically speaking that is. The real mask was laying next to him. 

“So I guess the charade is over?” he said, sitting up to stare at the Avatar.

The Avatar tilts his head in questioning. “Charade?”

Zuko actually rolls his eyes this time.  _ Maybe I  _ **_have_ ** _ been hanging out with Azula too much. I’ve picked up her habit. _ “Yeah, you know it was me who saved you. Not some guy who just wanted to help.” 

A moment, then “Well did you?”

Zuko lifts an eyebrow. “Did I what?”

Now the Avatar has the gall to look like _Zuko_ is the dense one for the questions he is asking. “Want to help?”

_ Now is my chance. _ he thinks. “Partially. I mostly didn’t want you to have to deal with that clown. He can be...difficult.”  _ An understatement. _

“Well then I have another question.”

“What else could you possibly want to know?” he says, not even needing to fake his annoyance with this whole debacle. “Don’t you want to run away to get more frogs for your friends?”

The Avatar’s eyes widen in remembrance, but he goes on with what he was going to say. “I was just wondering if we could be friends then? Since you  _ did _ save me. And I don’t see your sister around.”

_ Jackpot! _ “I…” he injected some fake reluctance into his tone. “don’t know. I think so? I realized I was wrong, and I do want to help.” he looked away. “But I can understand if you don’t want me around.” 

The Avatar’s eyes widened. “Really?!? I think you would be a great addition! I kept telling the others you would be a great team member!”

_ Hook, line, and sinker. This was almost too easy. Azula will be disappointed how easily it was to fool him. _

He looked at him shyly, faking his embarrassment. “You think so?”

The Avatar nodded quickly. “I do!” Then he paused sheepishly. “I think we need to catch more frogs though. I let all mine escape last night.”

Zuko felt his mood dip down. “I know.” He sighed and got up. “Let’s catch some frogs.” he didn't even need to fake the exasperation and annoyance with which he said that. 

The Avatar followed him happily to the pond. 

_ Well this will definitely be an interesting development. _

* * *

A few hours later, the Avatar walked into the makeshift area his friends are. After they stopped looking like death, they noticed they were one member higher. 

“Aang,” the water tribe girl said, false pleasantry coating her words, “why is  _ he _ here?”

The Avatar perked up. “He helped me escape Zhao when I was locked up. Also, he is our new team member!” 

A few seconds of pure silence passed until two voices yelled at the same time:

“Locked up???”

“New team member???”

_ This will be quite the challenge.  _ Zuko thinks. _ But it will definitely be fun.  _

* * *

Azula pretended to find a message stuck to the door with a knife. Both she and her uncle read the note and looked at each other. She kept her face perfectly blank, hiding her amusement.  _ Trust Zuko to be melodramatic.  _ She kept an eye on her uncle, who also had a blank face while reading the letter.

She sighs. “I guess my dear brother is now our enemy. How unfortunate.”

She went to her room to draft a letter to her Father, letting him know about recent developments. The note fell on the deck as she left.

_ Azula (and uncle), _

_ I have left to help the avatar. Don’t look for me. I won’t be back until I restore what I have lost.  _

_ Zuko. _

She laughed when she was alone. “Oh Zuko, I hope for your sake this plan goes well.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from fob's "disloyal order of water buffaloes"


	9. I left my conscience pressed between the pages of the Bible in the drawer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko joins the gang. Defnitely no ulterior motives here. None at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from 'xo' by fall out boy which honestly to me is kinda a zuko song, ngl. a filler chapter but having zuko integrated into the group is important for plot development.

The time spent with his new “teammates” makes him miss the times he was by himself. He wasn’t a people person to begin with, but once this is over he might just stay in his chambers in the palace by himself for a while. 

_This mission has dragged on far enough_. he thinks. They wait for the other two to recover and then they are off. He gets distrustful looks shot at him every time he moves and even when he is just sitting there. He can’t even be offended, he plans on doing exactly what they are thinking-capturing the avatar.

They flew and he decided to break the ice. “Since we’re teammates now I should probably remember your names.”

He gets a look from the other guy. “You don’t know our names? How were you even tracking us?”

Zuko shrugs. “Didn’t see a reason. You guys weren’t important anyway, just the avatars traveling companions.”

An offended look crosses him face, and the avatar-Aang, he should probably call him by his name-turns to him. “That's Sokka and Katara.”

Zuko nods. “Good to know. I’ll try not to forget.”

Katara scoffed and looked out at the water as they passed. The endless sea of blue passed by as he thought about what he should do next. _Azula is probably planning to move ‘against’ me. I wonder what she has up her sleeve this time._

He wouldn’t admit it but a part of him...was sad he had to leave. He didn’t miss her but it was close. The sarcastic biting comments they made to each other was sorely missing here. _I bet if i insulted them in any way they’d try to leave me behind._ He paused. _They still might._

They touch down and rest for the night. Zuko looks at the state of their supplies and scoffs, catching the attention of the rest of the group. Sokka looks at him, “Something wrong, your highness?” 

_Well I guess I can't say I miss the sarcastic barbs anymore._ Zuko thought to himself. 

“Yes, actually,” he says, looking through their meager provisions. “You barely have enough food for the three of you, much less items. Also, you don't have any type of medical equipment. I’m amazed how you all outsmarted us with such a disadvantage.” 

Katara scowls at him. “Well we don’t exactly have money for it. Plus, why do you care anyway?”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Obviously if I’m going to be traveling with you, we are not going to live like animals with meager scraps. We’ll stop at the next town. It would be better to go on foot.” 

Aang perks up. “Sounds like a good idea!” 

Katara says nothing but crosses her arms. 

Sokka looks annoyed and then says, “Fine. But you’re paying.”

Zuko looks at the sea as they pass. “I will pay for what _I_ find to be useful not trinkets you sucker me into buying.” He turns away from them to look out the sea. 

He ignores the conversation in the background as his mind wanders off. _This is going to be a long mission._

* * *

“It would be best if we walk, huh?” Sokka said, glaring at him, quoting what he had said earlier.

Zuko shrugged. “How was I supposed to know it was going to rain?”

“Yeah well now it won’t stop!” 

Zuko hmmed looking at the sky. It was a torrential downpour, but it would be over in a few minutes. “Yes it will.” 

As predicted a few minutes later, the sun was shining. Sokka glared at the path ahead of him. “Whatever.” 

After the weird encounter with a man earlier, they knew the town was just up ahead. They saw the entrance into the town and made ahead. Zuko looked around. Before this mission, he hadn’t left the palace, and the Fire Nation, to that extent. It was...interesting to see how different nations worked together. 

He still preferred his nation though. 

As they passed by he looked at all the quaint buildings they came upon something that made him groan. _Please don’t want to go in here._ There was nothing more annoying to him than these psychics. They would come to palace sometimes and he would hate every minute of their visit. 

“Let's go in here!” Aang said excitedly, pulling the door open. 

Zuko was sure his annoyance was radiating ten fold. “Do we have to?”

Sokka looked like he ate a lemon. “As much as I don’t want to agree with him, he’s right.”

Zuko smirked. “How much did that hurt you to say?”

Sokka scowled and pushed pass him. He laughed and walked in with the rest of them. A girl waiting inside was fixedly staring at Aang with a passion that made Zuko uncomfortable. A woman walked in and greeted them. 

“Welcome to my practice. I am Madame Wu. What can I do for you?”

“Proabbly nothing but my buddy wanted to check you out.” Sokka said. 

The woman ignored him. “Well, then come on. I’ll have the girl go next and then the other boy last.”

Sokka looked offended. “What about me?” He ignored Zuko’s muttered, “what happened to ‘you can do nothing for me’?

She waved him off. “Your future is boring. Darkness, pain, suffering, the usual. Not much to report.” 

Katara held back a laugh behind her palm and Zuko hid his smile. 

Aang snuck to see Katara’s session and came back happy. Zuko chose to ignore the budding romance that was unfolding. He had seen this plenty of times and had no desire to watch it unfold. Aang went next and came back sullen. Then it was his turn. He sighed and walked back to the area.

She sat him down and did her ritual. “Interesting.” was all she said. 

It piqued his interest, as much as he didn’t want it to. “What?”

She looked at him. “You had a turbulent life when you were younger until someone intervened. Now you’re on a mission to complete a task. I’m seeing that this will only end in tragedy if you don’t make a choice. The choice won;t be made for a while, you’ll know when it is. And when you do, you will have to make a very hard choice. The wrong one could spell disaster for the whole world. As a crown prince, you have quite the way for destruction if that is what you desire”

He felt dread build up inside him. _How did she know? I didn’t even say anything about me or my identity._ He nodded shallowly. “Thank you for the secession.” He barely managed to get out. This woman...unnerved him. He needed to leave. 

He ignored Aang's questioning glance and walked outside waiting for them to all walk out of the place. 

He pushed back the feelings and decided it was time to eat. He’ll think better on a full stomach.

* * *

Later that day, after they had prevented a catastrophic incident from happening, not that he really wanted to help but still, he pulled aang aside.

“I know you have something going on with the water tribe girl.” Zuko said, staring at him. Aang was about to respond when he said, “Here’s some fee advice. Don’t force it. If you try and pressure her you’ll only end up disappointed. You can listen to me or not, I don’t care. Just passing along advice you definitely need.”

“Do you think I have a chance?” 

Zuko regretted ever even opening his mouth, but their interactions since the fortune teller was painful to watch. The second hand embarrassment he felt was unrivaled. 

“I’ve been here for two days.” He said, walking past Aang. “What would I know.”

Aang’s shoulders dropped and Zuko let out an annoyed sigh. “Just wait. She’ll either come around or she won’t. I’m just telling you this now before you mess up any further.”

He walked away, thinking of his own plans. _I should follow my own advice. I need to make sure I don’t push too hard or they might never trust me. And I need them to, or else this plan will never work._

He plopped down in front of the fire they had made when they set up camp. The warmth felt nice and he could almost feel the heartbeat in the fire. He reached his hand to feel the warmth before a different hand snatched his out of the fire. 

It was the water tribe boy-Sokka. “I may not like you at all but I should at least stop you from burning your hands to a crisp.”

Zuko frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The other boy looked at him like _he_ was the crazy one. “You stuck your hands in the fire!”

Zuko gave him a confused look. “So?”

Sokka sputtered. “What do you mean so? It’s fire! It hurts!”

Zuko hmmed thoughtfully and said, “Not me. Firebenders are more resilient to fire. As long as I controlled the fire it wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“That’s beside the point!” Sokka glared at the fire and then at him. He pointed at him angrily, “just don’t put your hands in the fire again. I don’t want to have to patch you up.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as the other boy walked away. 

_Drama queen. It’s just a bit of fire._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a new au, if you want to read it. it's a muder mystery. you can read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29282091).


	10. Paradise City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko threatens someone, reveals a bit about himself, and integrates himself as part of Aang's firebending training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a bit later than I wanted it to be, but school and genshin got me preoccupied. the stormterror quest and fight was no joke lol. i didn't get the characters I wanted last banner but i did get barbara to to c3 and amber to c1, so there's that i guess. anyway on to the chapter. chapter title is from the guns n roses song of the same name because that's what i was listening to while uploading this.

A few days pass, and Zuko has successfully integrated himself into the group. He still has the distrustful looks sent his way, so he's a long way to his goal.

They continued to make their way to the Northern Water Tribe. _I’ll have to tell Azula in a letter soon. That will be the perfect moment to strike._

As they walked through the area, avoiding branches and trees, they spotted something. Sokka lifts it up and converses with Katara excitedly. He shares a look with Aang. 

“It’s definitely a water tribe thing, let’s go up ahead on the trail to see if we can find anything more.” Katara said, walking ahead.

Zuko sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. _How are we going to make it there in time if we keep stopping and getting side tracked?_

Aang looked worried and Zuko did not have it in himself to care right now. He walked behind the other two and left Aang there. Aang caught up and walked next to him.

 _Please don’t try and start a conversation about what we found._ He thought to himself. Of course, that’s exactly what he did. 

“I wonder what they found.” Aang said, subtly trying to get him to share his thoughts.

Zuko decided with the truth. He had been told he was brutally honest, but he didn’t really care that much. Why would he care about people who were lower than him on the ladders opinions. “I don’t really care.”

Aang looked disappointed. “Oh-“

He was interrupted by Katara and Sokka running ahead. Aang ran to catch up with them but Zuko kept his pace. _Whatever it is I doubt it’s that important and to be honest I don’t really care anyway._

He reached the clearing and saw them talking to an older man. _Probably someone from their tribe._

He was proven correct upon introductions. _Bato of the water tribe, huh. I’ll have to include what I find about their positions when I write to Azula._

A few minutes later they sit in the tent like structure and everyone settles down. Aang introduces himself as the avatar to Bato and shows off his “skills”, resulting in him extinguishing the torches held in the tent. 

Zuko sighs and gets up. “I got it.” He lights a red flame on his finger and decides that is probably too hot, so he turns it down to the regular orange flame of most firebenders. _That temperature control class was definitely a good idea. Even if it was awful to go through._ He pushed the thought out of his head and lit the torches back up.

He turned around to see everyone looking at him. He gave them a look. “What? You knew I was a fire-benders so why are you surprised I can relight a torch?”

Aang's eyes gleamed. “I didn’t know there were other colors of fire you could bend!”

Zuko sat back down. “Well usually there isn’t. But my sister and I had a class that showed us how to control temperatures. It’s something any fire bender can do. You just need to put in a long time of practice everyday and most people aren’t willing to do that.”

The older man, Bato, said, “I see.” 

An awkward silence passed. Zuko sighed and said, “I’m going outside to get some fresh air. Feel free to gossip about me when I leave.”

He ignored the exclamations of them saying they weren't going to, and sat outside. He needed to mentally prepare his letter to Azula. He said he would write a letter as soon as he was able to. _I haven’t learned much about them. Getting them to trust me is very slow going. I guess all I can do is wait._

He sits out there a while until the avatar-he should really call him Aang-walks out of the tent and sits next to him. Zuko bites back the rude remark and then turns to him. “Why are you out here? I thought you guys would be in there for a while.” 

Aang looked down. “Yeah so did I.” He turns to Zuko. “They just started talking about their home, and i had nothing to add, so i guess I left.” 

Zuko felt like rolling his eyes. “So, just because you can’t relate to them doesn’t mean you can’t talk to them. What’s the real reason you left?” 

Aang looked surprised. “How did you know?”

Zuko felt unimpressed. “It’s obvious. You-all of you-wear your hearts on your sleeves. It’s very easy to see what you're feeling at any given moment.”

Aang frowned. “It is?” 

“Yeah.” 

A few moments of quiet passed by and Zuko thought the conversation was over but then Aang turned to him. “Zuko-”

All of sudden he heard a crunch and whipped around. “Someone's here.” 

Aang looked around. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Enemies strike form when you least expect it. That’s the first lesson I learned at the palace.” Zuko frowned, scanning around. _They aren’t too far. From their footsteps, I’d guess they were about a couple feet from our line of vision._

A person showed up a few seconds later, and Zuko pulled out his knife, not the one he left, but the one Azula gave him for his birthday. He pointed his knife at the man. “State your business.”

The man looked defensive. “Who are you?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes in distrust. “Who are _you_?”

The man held a letter. “I’m here to deliver a letter. Why are you here?”

Aang held his hand across Zuko’s chest. “Zuko is just being over-protective. I’m the avatar, and I’m here to talk with the water tribe people stationed here, along with Katara and Sokka.”

At Aang’s words, the man's grip on his bag tightened. “Zuko? As in the Fire Nation Prince?”

Zuko smirked cruelly, “The very same. Now hand over the letter and be on your way. I would hate to see you in an _unfortunate_ accident.” he said, waving his knife as he spoke. 

Aang laughed uncomfortably, “He won’t do anything. He’s on our side.”

 _For now_ . Zuko thinks. _I will backstab you as soon I get the chance._

The man looks skeptical. “Sure. Here’s the letter. A word to the wise, kid? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” the man hands the letter over and walks away, not bothering to look back and ignoring Aang's muttered, “But I don’t have any eggs.”

Watching the man walk away Zuko remarked, “He’s lucky I'm not actually attacking him, he left himself wide open turning his back to me.”

Aang looked shocked. “You can’t actually mean that?”

Zuko looked at Aang, confused. “Of course I did. It’s always foolish to turn your back to an unknown party or enemy.” 

Aang looked stricken. “Why did you threaten him with a knife!”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a drama queen. I wasn’t actually going to kill him.”

Aang doesnt look relaxed. “Or hurt him right?” Zuko walked away not responding. “Zuko?!”

* * *

The Avatar decided to hide the letter and spilt the group. _Now’s my chance! I can’t believe it happened so quickly. After this Azula and I can finally go home_. 

As they ventured off on their own, Zuko quickly began making plans on how he was going back to the ship. _It won’t be easy but I will do it._

As soon as he was ready to put his plan into action, the other two appeared again. He reigned in his anger, and sighed. _I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Even with Azula and I working together we were always a step behind._

Watching them together laughing, made him miss Azula, just a little bit. 

Not that he would ever tell her.

* * *

Zuko couldn't believe he was here. _The legendary deserter. Now this I can’t wait to see._ Zuko had heard all about this traitor. He’d keep this location in mind. _Hopefully, they stay here so we can get them after we return with the Avatar._

Walking through the camp, he was getting lots of strange looks. Many of them knew him, and did not have high opinions of him. _Nor that I care about the opinions of a traitor_. 

They were turned away immediately. “I will not be helping people who are friends of the Fire Prince.” the man said.

Zuko smirked at the man, no-the traitor, and said in a fake happy voice, “Oh, don't worry. We aren’t friends. I’m here with the Avatar. You don’t have to worry about little old me.”

This caused him to scowl even more. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want no part in it. I have no desire to see Azula either.”

Zuko looked offended. “Not even my dear uncle?”

The man looked at him sharply. “What of him?”

“He was traveling with us. I so sadly had to part with him and Azula when I went with the Avatar on his little quest.”

(“It’s not a little quest!” Sokka grumbled.

“Be quiet Sokka.” Katara said, exasperated.)

“ _You_ left the Fire Nation _willingly_?” Jeong Jeong scoffed. “I don’t believe it. Your father would hunt you down if that ever happened.”

Zuko grinned sharply. “And who says he isn’t?” A pause. “Why do you think Azula isn’t here.”

Jeong Jeong looked annoyed again. “I’ll help the avatar, but I want you to be no where near him.”

Zuko, who did not look sorry in the least. “Sorry, but I’m helping him with his firebending. So you’ll be seeing me a lot more _Jeong Jeong_.” he said, fake sorrow dripping from his words. 

Jeong Jeong’s look of absolute despair was evident to everyone present.

* * *

Aang brought up what he said in the meeting “Did you really mean it Zuko?”

“Mean what?” he said, scooping up some soup.

“About teaching me.”

Zuko shrugged. “Sure, but don’t complain when I teach you. At least I won’t burn you when you get a stance wrong.”

The group looked horrified. “Is that how you learned?” Katara asked him.

Zuko shrugged. “Yeah. In the early days I was always covered in burns. Had to go to the healer all the time. My mom-” he stopped before he saw their expectant looks and scowled. _Think of what Azula would say, "It's a chance to get them to trust you." Just tell them._ “She would always get so mad at the trainers, and then took me to the pond to let me feed the animals. Of course she stopped that soon after, and ignored me like she did my sister.” he said, bitterly. “But I’m sure you don’t care about the Fire Nation Royal family drama.”

Sokka shrugged. “I’m actually curious. I always thought Azula hated you.”

Zuko laughed. “That’s because she does. Or she used to.” At their confused looks he clarified. “We didn’t grow up as siblings, we grew up as opponents. While I was technically the heir to the throne, Azula was the favored one. She and I were always pitted against another, and she always won. Or well, she used too. No idea what changed her from the kid who would push me off the roof and break my wrist to the kid who would laugh when I chewed out the servants for being incompetent. Now we’re on much more equal ground, although she is still better at bending than me, but I outrank her in hand to hand and close quarter combat.”

Aang looked stricken. “She pushed you off a roof?!”

Zuko shrugged. “Yeah. I wasn’t paying attention, so she just shoved me off the roof and laughed. I broke my wrist landing on it. Of course she didn’t get in trouble, but I got her back a few years later by pushing her off a balcony.” Zuko laughed. “She was not happy after she sprained her ankle.”

He saw their horrified looks and tried to decipher what he said that caused that reaction. “What?”

Sokka and Katara looked at each other. “Uh, you know that’s not normal right?” Katara said, uneasy.

Zuko gave them a look. “Are you saying I shouldn’t have gotten her back?”

“I’m saying you shouldn’t have had that happen in the first place. Where were your parents during this?” Katara asked him. 

That made Zuko scowl. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not like they would have cared for the first one, and Mother had already left a few years before I got Azula back.” Zuko looked at the fire. “I guess she couldn't stand the fact that both of her children weren’t soft hearted and were willing to do what needed to be done without qualms.” He clapped his hands together cheerfully, “Well, that's enough of that. Aang we have to meet that man at the place he specified right? I’m sure he will have some _great_ training ideas.”

Aang looked scared.

_I can’t believe I have to work with this traitor. I just hope it’s worth it in the end. I will capture the avatar, and that’s a promise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zuko: *reveals traumatic backstory* anyway hahah lets get to training  
> the rest of the gang: ...you alright bro?
> 
> i can't believe i've almost hit 20k words!!! thank you everyone for your commenting and kudos!!! i really appreciate it. dont forget to leave a comment or if you have any questions hit me up on my tumblr (listed below!)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! 
> 
> tumblr: thebatmandiaries
> 
> title from "i dont care" by fall out boy.


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